By Catherine Carlton, volunteer contributor, American Red Cross

As an almost Independence Baby, mom missed it by a day, I still consider July 4 one of my favorite holidays. There’s usually a get-together of family and friends; watermelon; ice cream; and, of course, fireworks and sparklers. Some of my fondest childhood birthday parties involve all of the above: my mom’s watermelon ice cream and sparklers as friends sang to me.

Now that I have kids on my own, I have a bit of a hesitation in including sparklers in our festivities. Here are some tips to be sure you can have your fun with your safe holiday:

• Follow local, county, state laws about fireworks/sparkler use.
• Have at least one adult supervisor.
• Never hold or light more than one sparkler at a time.
• Always hold the sparkler at arm’s length from the body and stand at least six feet away from other people.
• Don’t run with, throw or give a lit sparkler to someone else.
• Keep unlit sparklers away from lit sparklers.
• Keep a bucket of water nearby.
• Put matches as well as sparklers/fireworks in water to put them out.
• Do not step on sparklers/fireworks to put them out.
• Douse sticks/sparkers even after they’re done burning.